MUBS Lobbies Parliament for University Status

Makerere University Business School (MUBS) wants Parliament to push technocrats in the Ministry of Education for the institution to become independent from Makerere University.

The Principal of the School, Prof Wasswa Balunywa told the Committee of Education that at first, the National Council for Higher Education had highlighted the lack of a library as the reason for failure to grant MUBS independence but that this has since been established.

Balunywa was Wednesday appearing before the Committee of Parliament to present the School’s Budget Framework paper for the financial year 2018/2019.

He said that apart from Makerere and Kyambogo universities there is no other university that is bigger than MUBS, adding that he couldn’t understand why they government has been adamant to accord it a University status.

Balunywa told the MPs that a process to have the school turned into the university was commenced last year under orders by the Minister of Education, Janet Museveni.

“The process commenced, the National Council for High Education made a visitation to the School and wrote a report advising the Ministry to set up a task force to initiate the gazetting of MUBs into a University but for months now, nothing is maturing,” Balunywa said.

Legislators led by the Committee Chairperson, Connie Galiwango wondered why government through the Ministry of Education didn’t adopt the recommendations of the Committee report which had agreed to make MUBS a University.

Balunywa noted that the issues failing MUBS are just political but not administrative in nature calling on Parliament to take lead to help the School achieve the desired status.

The Committee is set to meet with officials from the Ministry of Education to avail them with responses on the status of gazetting MUBS as an independent University as per their recommendations.